Luggage such as suitcases with wheels are very popular. The wheels assist the user in moving the luggage around. Suitcases are generally rectangular and, when being packed or unpacked, are designed to lie on one of the suitcase surfaces with the largest surface area, with the opposite, opening surface being hinged to one of the longer sides. To manoeuvre such a suitcase, wheels are provided on one of the shorter sides with a telescopic handle protruding from the opposite short side for the user to pull the suitcase along.
This arrangement has a number of disadvantages. First, the user has to take care when packing a suitcase as when the suitcase is freestanding on the wheeled end, the centre of gravity is quite high and the suitcase can topple over if all the weight is packed at the top. This problem is exacerbated if a user carries an additional weight on top of the suitcase such as a briefcase. Travel briefcases are often provided with straps to feed the telescopic handle of the luggage through and this additional weight raises the centre of gravity even higher.
Further, it is difficult to push wheeled suitcases, as may be the case if the user wishes to push a child sitting on suitcase. This difficulty is caused by the height of the handle; when pulling a suitcase the pulling hand is at waist level and the arm is substantially straight. When pushing a pram, for example, both hands are used and the arms are bent at the elbow, the hands being higher than in the pulling situation by the length of the user's forearms.